Aggies fall to Texas Tech 35-7

Tony Hooten

10/13/2007

Big 12 South leader Texas A&amp;M travelled to Lubbock for their annual rivalry with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, seeking their first win in Lubbock since 1993. Texas A&amp;M scored first, but that was to be their only points as the Aggies fell to the Red Raiders 35-7. Graham Harrell passed for 425 yards and 3 TDs to lead the Red Raiders.

Texas A&M travelled to Lubbock for their annual rivalry with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, seeking their first win in Lubbock since 1993. Texas A&M scored first, but that was to be their only points as the Aggies fell to the Red Raiders 35-7. Graham Harrell passed for 425 yards and 3 TDs to lead the Red Raiders.

The game started positively for the Aggies. After forcing Tech to punt on their first possession, A&M drove 73 yards in 10 plays, all on the ground. Jorvorskie Lane scored on a 1-yard dive with 6:57 left in the first quarter and Matt Szymanski kicked the extra point to give the Aggies a 7-0 lead.

Texas A&M had an opportunity to widen the lead late in the first quarter. After another Tech punt, A&M drove from their 7-yard line to the Tech 24-yard line before Matt Szymanski missed a 41-yard field goal attempt wide left.

Graham Harrell passed for 425 yards and 3 TDs to lead Texas Tech over the Aggies. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Tech drove 76 yards on 9 plays on their third possession, and Graham Harrell threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Eric Morris. The extra point by Alex Trlica tied the game 7-7 at 12:48 in the second quarter.

After a short Aggie punt, Tech scored quickly on their next possession. It took the Red Raiders just 6 plays to move 55 yards, and Graham Harrell connected with Edward Britton for a 28-yard touchdown. Trlica's extra point gave Tech a 14-7 lead at 8:48 in the 2nd quarter.

The Aggies drove to the Tech 16-yard line, before Matt Szymanski missed his second field goal of the night, this from 34 yards wide right. Tech took over on their 20-yard line with just 1:21 left in the first half. On their Tech's first play from scrimmage, Harrell tossed a screen pass for Michael Crabtree and Crabtree took it 54 yards to the Aggie 26-yard line. After a 19-yard completion to Crabtree, Shannon Woods scored on a 1-yard run and Trlica's extra point extended Tech's lead to 21-7 with 25 seconds left in the half. Texas A&M ran out the clock to end the half.

At halftime, Texas Tech led Texas A&M in total yards, 269 to 223, but A&M led in first downs, 13 to 12. Texas Tech had 209 yards passing and 60 yards rushing, while Texas A&M had 183 yards rushing and 40 yards passing. Texas A&M had controlled the clock, with 18:10 possession compared with 11:50 for Texas Tech.

Stephen McGee contemplates another Lubbock loss during the final seconds. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

The Aggie offense could not get on track in the third quarter, being forced to punt on on all three of their third quarter possessions. The Aggie defense was able to hold Tech scoreless in the third quarter, thanks to Red Bryant's block of an Alex Trlica 22-yard field goal attempt at 5:18 left in the third quarter.

Texas Tech put this game out of reach with two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter. Tech drove 83 yards in 12 plays, with Graham Harrell sneaking over from the 1-yard line for a touchdown. After A&M's fourth punt of the half, Tech used a 47-yard screen pass to Michael Crabtree to drive 72 yards in 5 plays. Danny Amendola scored on an 8-yard pass from Graham Harrell. Trlica's extra point extended Tech's lead to 35-7 at 8:29 in the fourth quarter.

The Aggies drove to the Tech 3-yard line, but failed failed to score on a 4th-and-goal attempt to rmain scoreless since the first quarter. Texas Tech ran out the clock to preserve a 35-7 win over Texas A&M.

For the game, Tech led A&M in total yards, 533 to 366, and in first downs, 25 to 20.